Cotton-picking apparatus



June 4, 1929. P. P. HRING 1,715,655

1 COTTON PICKING APARATUS Original Filed Feb,2, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet l Engl. ,b

2;l A r y .dm r. Ma/#Mal .ff

i June 4, 1929. I `P, P. HARING 1,715,655

COTTON PI CKING APPARATUS Original Filed Feb. 2, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I L Znvinoif:

v veier Paul Jfarjzg, 1

' June 4, 1929.

P. P: lf-iARlNG COTTON PICKNG APPARATUS original File@ Feb. 2, 1923 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented `linie 4, 1929.

PETER PAUL'HABING, on GoLiAn, TEXAS.

COTTQ'N-PIGKNG APJPARA'JJUS.A

Application ledi February 2 1923;.Se1ia1 No: 616,570; Renewed July 9,192?.

Figune l is a rean View oii the machine With parts. in section'.

Fig. 2 is a plan viewA of4 diagrammatic form, showing the Vpiclrer armsV in dotted lines, themeans for carryingthem, convey.n ors andi other parts.

Fig. is a: vertical: sectional` View on line 8--3 ot Fig. l through one. of the conveyors, parts-.being shown inelevation.

Fig. t isa sectional- View` along oneot the picker arms on line 4-4 of Fig. 2'.

Fig. is a cross section of Fig. 4 substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 4', some oilthe` parts. being shown in elevation.

F igf. 6 is` an end' face View. of a picker;

Fig.` 7 is a sectionalf view of the conveyor with parts shown in plan view substantially on the line 7-7 ot F ig. 3.

Fig. Sis a detail view off-a sprocket chain iir section, andir a partei' the conveyor and one of the hangers. f 1

Figs. 9` and` l0 arel diagrammatic views illustrating the operation of means to insure the proper engagement of certain gears and toothed. racks.

The machine comprises twoy setsl ofpickerarmsindicated at l, 2, each set being mounted on suitable cari-ier means driven hy link belts or chains a passing around: suitable guide \vl 1eel's, andl driven in any suitable y gerslSf, 8 is illustrated inthe diagrams Figs.

manner; Tlfie-,picker--afrms are provided with picker fingers of the form shown in Fig. 6, arranged at the ends o''shats 3, andi adapted to enga-ge thecotton and' twist it -tromthe bell7 and carry` it to al point of' discharge.;

For discharging the cotton from themselves the picker iingers are given a reverse'rotary motion,V that is to say, i-n perform-ingtheir picking actions they vpicker fingers WillE be rotated inkone direction7 i. e., in the direction in which they point, and for discharging the cotton they willy be rotated in the opposite direction, so that in effect they Withdraw themselves' from the CQtton. For driving the'picl'ei" fingers their are provided each: with a pinion meshing Withfa pinion `.on asha-tt which is driven as Vhereinafter described from a gear G meshingwith the plan-t to renioveVH the cotton,y theref fronn. and' ivhen: the point is reached Where the cotton is to be dischaiigedc,V they Will; heV

. rotated hackwardly,l and thedischarged cot ton will; be taken a conveyor Z7 ande? d'e-v livered` intofany. suitable receptacle. l It will he seen that the gear'vvh-ic'lidrives the pickers leaves one raclc and'thereartterengages the nach 5. Thesev I )artsy are:` s o\` relatedy that under vnormal conditions the gear 6 will mesh vproperly. with the.e racl'c 5, Y but owingto vibration or froniother: causes; the `gear (iiniay` turnout et the position it assumedioii leaving nach 4f, and in order to insure that'the will be set-in proper position to mesh with the .rack 5 fonthel re-versing'.ottlie picker I'fingers,.I arrange. a xed' finger 8 inxposition toengage and? turn the gear 6, should it have gotten"outogl"nonmaltposition, and: thus insure.x that it engages* the rack 5 properly. There is oneot these aligning lingers at each ga-pi inthe rack system see 8, 8A. The function of these. tin- 9 and l0. lf the gear 6 arrives aty the rackA in; the positionfto mesh properly therewith as shown in Fig.; 1.0, theftinger St' Willi not he contacted by the teethy of the gear.

The teethf in 'such instance travel thel path:

p. lBut if the gear 6' has turned"t on its axis to a position Where its tooth t' instead' ofE travei-'singl the path p travels along the are 7J. thenitwill strike thev nger4 8:1' and? Will be turned suiciently tov make the tooth Vt v mesh properly with the: rack whichv otherwise it Would not do. Alt'vvill be understood that there are a ser-ies. etl picker fingers on= each arm,' and that they aredriven by shafts 9 extending lengtlivvise; of the arms' andy imparting movement to the fingers by bevel gears 10.A The shafts 9 are driven loy'the- Suitable xed guides are vemployed at 14, for guiding the carrier chains, and these chains pass around sprocket wheels 16,

- 17,'the drive taking place through vertical shafts 18Y connected with the sprocket wheels 16. The vertical shafts are suitably driven as bythe cross shaft 19 to which power is communicated from the wheels of the vehicle. f

The Vconveyor belts 7. are oi canvas and have pointsa: to engage the cotton. These belts alsofhave sprockety chains 20 by whichthey are driven.

' around suitably. disposed sprocket wheels and the drive may take place'from the cross shaft 19 as indicated.,` The canvas portion of the conveyoryis clamped between cross stripsQlof kmetal and the points 7a extend Y vfrom one of these metal strips to engage the hangers'QB of rightA angular'iorm securedr l to thel sprocket chains.

cotton. These metal strips are carried .by

As a result of this construction, the canvas portion ofthe conveyor will be depressed along the stretch a' ofthe conveyor, from which portion the pointsv 7a extend upwardly, whereas in re-Y spect to the lower stretchy of the conveyorf y therelation of the vpartsvis-'reverseth vthe canvas portion being elevatedj in respect to the sprocket chain. This construction bringsV the two stretches of the conveyor close together and economizes` space.

It also forms a troughllike structure which will prevent the cotton .from-being displaced of the troughg. The pins 7a project up fromY this stretch of the belt.. The clamping stripsl are secured together to clamp the canvas.`

`between' 'them in any suitable way, as ,by

laterally'. rlhis is shown in Fig. 7, and it will be noticed here that the sprocket chains form the side of this trough-like structure, thev canvas forms the other side and the casing .wall 24 of the conveyor box forms .the otherr side, (so that the .cotton is coniined while being conveyed.`

In respectlt'o the upper stretch x uponv which the cotton is received from the pickerL mechanism, the trough-like structure exists here also, in that the 'chains .form the sides rivets V7",r as shown in Fig.` 8.. AsV will be seen from Fig. 3, the conveyor belt 1s contlnuous romdits horizontal stretch toits .uppermost point at Z, and besides its horizontal stretch itincludes the vertical stretchand'the inclined upper stretch.y From the point Z the cotton is discharged into any suitable hopper or other receiver. The cross Vby pullingA on the handlesQ.

These rsprocket chains pass shaft 19 has clutches 19BN for controlling the transmission of power through the sprockets 19h, chainse19, and sprockets 19d vto thel conveyor chains, and these clutches vwill be operated by any suitable connections from the hand lever Z), as for example the ropes b. The casing 24 encloses the conveyor.

The bottom plates 25 of the upper portions ofthe conveyor casingmay Vbe removed I claim:

1. In anautomatic cotton picking appa-` ratus, a frame, carrying wheels, picker arms having rotary picker fin-gers, carrying means for the picker arms, gearing' for rotating the picker fingers in one direction for picking the cotton and in the other direction for releasing the cotton at the point of discharge, said gearing including a gear. wheel travel# ling with the carrier means, racks with which the gear wheel. engages, one rack having teeth 'facing outwardlyand the other rack having teeth facing inwardly to drive the gear in opposite directions, and aligning means to `engage said gear on leaving one rack to make it register with the .other rack should it e be out of registering position, substantially as described.'

2. Inapparatus of the Vclass described,

p'icker arms arranged to work on opposite sides ofra row of plants, acarrier for each.

set of picker.` arms, sprocketwheelsabout which the carrier moves, and curvedguldesl Xed to the rameand cooperating with the chine, picker arms, picker klingers thereon,.

means for 'iving the arms a travelling movement and or rotating the pickerl ngers in one direction to pickthe cotton v.and in the opposite direction to release it, aconveyor 'for the vdischarged 'cotton Vcomprising sprocket chains, hangers extending therefrom, canvas vheld byl said hangers in aplane to onel side of the plane of the',

` carrying chains, and `points carried bythe canvas body to engage the cotton,said conveyor being so disposed.that,initsvparallel` portions the canvas willlie in planes intermediate the planes ofthe chains, substantially as described.

4;. In combination, sprocket chains carrying cotton picker means, curved guidesfor said chains within/the path described thereby, sprocket wheels for said chainsat the ends of the curvedv guides, the curves of which guides .are outward in respect to a. plane cutting the axes ofthe sprocket wheels, airframe upon whichV the curvedguides are l mounted, saidV curvedv guides and sprocket wheels causing the chains totravel along elliptical paths, and means for operating a lOO sprocket lWheel. of each chain, said chains lying on opposite sides of the space receiV-.

v as described. Y

ing the plant, substantially as described.

5. In *combination "with cotton picker mechanism, a conveyor comprising a,- flexible strip7 sprocket chains atv each side edge of the strip7 and hangers between the chains and the canvasstrip Wherebythe latter is heldvto one side of the central plane passing through the chains,'said canvas strip haying points toengage-v the cotton, substantially 6. In apparatus according; to claim l, said aligning means consisting of afinger in ad- Vance of the front end of each rack, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

PETER` PAUL' I-IKARIITG.V 

